Anyone with Hypothyroidism or Hashimoto's Thyroiditis?

nyfashionista19

Hey MFPers!! So I need some input as I was recently diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis by my general practitioner. She basically told me I had it and didn't give me much info., which is why I will be going to see an endocrinologist soon. I did some of my own research and it helped explain some of the symptoms I have been dealing with for years...like of course the weight struggles, heat and cold sensitivity and fatigue.

I would love to hear from anyone who has been diagnosed or knows someone who has. I have had my hypoactive diagnosis for years but this is the first I'm hearing of the Hashimoto. I could use a little inspiration from others like me who have been able to lose weight successfully even with the struggles of thyroid disorders. Anything you have to share would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks so much :happy:

SKHaz1

I'm so glad that you're seeing an endocrinologist. I think hypothyroidism is such a tricky topic. I went to my doctor recently because some of my symptoms were coming back and I just wanted to express my concerns and maybe get some answers. Since my levels were "normal" she slapped a diagnosis of depression on me and left the room! She also accused me of lieing to her about eating right and exercising. I'm not saying that your doctor is this extreme but going to see someone who specializes in the endocrine system may have more answers for you.

I was diagnosed as hypothyroid but thats about it. No Hashimoto's diagnosis or anything like that. Weight loss is possible but you must be strict with yourself. We're already at a disadvantage so we gotta kick it in the butt! I think once we find our optimal levels of TSH, T3 and T4 we'll be on an even playing field with everyone else. While I havnt had a lot of success I'm curious to see what others have to say and to see how your trip to the endo goes!

Sorry for not being more help!

graelwyn

Diagnosed hypothyroid at 29, after having had the symptoms for some months, but not doing anything about them because my then partner kept telling me it was psychosomatic. I am on 100mcg thyroxine a day. I have not noticed any issues losing weight or maintaining really, to be honest. Although I did pack on a bit of weight before the diagnosis, I put it down to eating a lot of chocolate and not exercising. It could, of course, have been the hypo, but either way I was still within a normal weight range for my height. I certainly have no issues losing weight now, to my knowledge. I find it surprising some people do, when I have had so little impact on my weight from it.

cbarzee

I was diagnosised with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and later thyroid Cancer over 10 years ago. Hashimoto's Thyroiditis is when your immune system attacks your thyriod which will put you in a Hypothyroid state. It can be managed with meds you need to make sure you have your blood work done every 3 months. You may experience fatigue and mood swings and develop a sensitivity to hot and cold tempatures. You would be amazed at everything that your thyroid does for your body.

Funsoaps

2 things that will help, get a good book to read (try googling Mary Shamon) and her Living Well books "with hypothyroidism or whatever". And get a good doctor (google "top thyroid docs").

JoyceJoanne

Yep. Hashimotos. Dealt with it un diagnosed for years. Same thing- depression meds, which made me gain more weight and hold on to what I already had. Saw an endo, he was very helpful. I am now taking synthroid daily. Seems to have helped, although I think it's time to be tested again. My levels feel off. I did lose a bunch of weight, I'm sure my eating properly and exercising was a HUGE part of it.

Pm me any questions. I'll try to answer what I can.

Good luck!

hoosier_red

22 years with Hashimoto's here -- you really do need to see an endocrinologist and get your levels balanced. Once that happens, weight loss will be easier, but it won't be as easy as for someone who has a normal thyroid. I've found that bumping up my protein intake and decreasing my carbs with regards to macronutrients makes me feel better and makes it easier to lose weight -- if I eat the same amount of carbs prescribed as macronutrients for a normal person, I don't lose a damn thing even if I stay within my calories. Good luck with your meds and your weight loss!

Shock_Wave

Cytomel T3 is by far way better than T4 is all I can say.

OzoneMama

I was diagnosed with both conditions in 2000, after I'm sure I walked around undiagnosed for years, once I recognized all the symptoms. I tried synthetic thyroid replacement, but I was not having success with weight loss, so I went to an endocrinologist who put me on Armour thyroid (natural, from pigs), and that has helped me tremendously. I lost 60 lbs. on Weight Watchers, but over the last winter I put about half of those pounds back on, so here I am on MFP to lose again. I am also carb sensitive, so I eat more protein, even though I love carbs...but they make me gain easily. I also recommend Mary Shomon's website and books. She helped me a lot in the first few years of my diagnosis. Make sure you have a good and understanding doctor who will test for T3 and T4 levels. I have also had doctors doubt me about my diet and exercise habits, and one doctor told me I should go on a 500-calorie a day diet. I don't think so! Some doctors are clueless about thyroid disease. Don't give up, but it is often a struggle to find out what works for us as individuals.

JDunbar82

Hi...thyroid problems are tricky! I was actually diagnosed with Grave's Disease and Hashimoto's when I was 20. I had Radioactive iodine treatment at the time and have battled the back and forth symptoms of hypo and hyper thyroid. The most important thing to remember is that everyone is different...different treatments work for different people but with that being said you definitely have to have a good doctor that's willing to think outside the box a little. For the last 8 years my levels were always out of control...struggled to keep them anywhere near the normal range during my first pregnancy. About this time last year, my endo put me on Cytomel which is synthetic T3...along with Synthroid. It has completely changed my life. I stopped losing my hair( I was actually starting to get bald spots!)...some of my nerve problems have cleared up( I've had multiple nerve and joint issues resulting in many unpleasant surgeries over the last 8 years)....I had terrible dry eye problems that have since cleared up and I feel like a real person again. I just recently had my second child...and my levels were stable throughout the entire pregnancy...which was a tremendous accomplishment! I have also had great success losing weight after this baby just by watching what I'm eating and trying to exercise as I can...I've been overweight basically since I had RAI so I'm hoping this year on Cytomel and no pregancy will help me get this weight off. But ...that's just my story...do your research, don't be afraid to ask lots of questions...and find someone that will treat you by how you feel, not necessarily your "levels"...which by the way "normal" is different things to different doctors. Some doctors will say anything up to 5 for TSH is normal...the newer standard I believe is around .3 to 3 to be considered the normal range( this definitely applies to me as I feel better the lower my TSH falls). Hope that helps...I definitely don't know everything there is to know about thyroid issues but feel free to add me if you'd like the support!

nyfashionista19

Thank you all so much for your responses!! You have all opened my eyes to so many things I was unaware of and that I need to do more homework. I have known for a while that something was "off" with my body and now I know I was right to trust my gut. I can't wait to see an endo and get more clarification. I will keep you all posted!!

plot_twist

20 with rather aggressive hashi's.
welcome to the fold ? I wasn't diagnosed until 17, so I'm still a bit new to all of this myself. I get ultrasounds of my thyroid once a year, and now that I've somewhat stabilized, I only have to go in every six months. Starting out, though, I went every two months because of how high my antibody counts were/are (I usually test well over 1000 when the "acceptable" range is 35).
Best of luck with your research and seeing an endo. Finding the right meds can take time, but I feel so much better for it.

Lithriel

I was always overweight growing up. Wasn't til I realized all my vague seemingly unrelated symptoms were of hypothyroidism that I finally asked my doctor. My numbers were out of range but that didn't seem to bug him. Instead he wanted to put me on anti-depressants. Like that's going to help my cold feet. *rolls eyes*

I found the best thing for it is exercise and weight loss. I know it sounds hard to do as stubborn weight is one of the symptoms, but by pushing through it and exercising my levels went back into normal range when my weight went down. I am so glad I didn't start taking the meds for it because I would have had to take them for life. Now I am a healthy bmi. I find that taking L-tyrosine helps keep the energy levels up and keeps my face from getting puffy. It supposedly helps with t3 t4 levels too (google search for more info). I dropped 3 pounds after starting to take it without doing anything at all.

movitos

There are a few things to keep in mind when experiencing Hashimotos' disease... One is that gluten aggravates it so it's recommended to follow a gluten-free diet. Other things you need to avoid are iodine supplements, walnuts and goitrogenic foods such as soy, broccoli, kale and cauliflower. Armour, mentioned above by OzoneMama, provides your body with T4 and T3 and it seems to work really well for most people so remember to talk about it with the endo! And because it's an autoimmune condition it's KEY to balance the immune system as well.
Visit this blog,
http://lowthyroidhelp.com/blog/2012/01/17/hashimotos-disease-the-immune-system-has-the-key/
if you want to learn more about all this and connect with other people dealing with Hashimoto's disease. Good luck

MamaByGrace8

Here is a podcast a friend shared with me that talks about calming the immune system (along the lines of what movitos mentioned). Gluten, soy, dairy, chocolate and coffee can all trigger inflammatory immune responses. Thyroid meds deal with the Hypothyroidism, which is a symptom of the auto immune disease.

http://realsustenance.com/podcast-real-answers-debunking-hashimotos-disease/

I see a naturopath doctor for my Hashi's & Hypothyroidism. Naturopaths seem to want to get to the root of the condition, rather than just medicating it. Selenium helps support the immune system as well.

Nailrep

This is an interesting topic. My mother, sister, niece, and nephew have been diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease. So, I'm waiting my turn. Since I haven't droppeda single pound in one month, I'm beginning to wonder if i should go be tested.

Good luck to you!!

anwilson_83

i have hashimotos disease.so does my 9 year old daughter.my levels bounce back and forth and i cant lose weight while it does this. its awful. makes me feel like crap.

jadesign19

Me too! I can totally understand your frustration and confusion especially reading everyone's story. I just want you to know that you can friend me. There is a group on MFP for hypothyroidism, it hasn't helped me much but for others it has. I think your going to find its like a science experiment for the next few years. You'll figure out what works and what doesn't. Just be patient. At least you figured it out now so you can control the rest of your life.:flowerforyou:

roxerella

Hi all,

Recently diagnosed with Hashimoto thyroiditis. Been battling with weight for years. I dropped 47lbs last year, but was following extremely low cal/carb eating plan. After 7 months weight stopped dropping and I started suffering with dizzyness and extreme lethargy and I've been at a plateau ever since. Have tried upping cals, lowering cals, lots of exercise, no exercise. Nothing is working! My NET cals average 762 a day over the past 30 days (I work out 2 hours a day) yet I've gained 6lbs in that time! Energy and mental state pretty low. Still waiting to see specialist in order to get certain diagnosis and medication options.

I.m on waiting list to see endo at the hospital, but still no appointment 3 months after diagnosis so as yet unmedicated.

Good to hear people are managing to lose with Hashimotos!

JessicaJoan88

I don't understand how people with hashimoto's are supposed to lose weight. I was 17 when I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. When I was 21 I was diagnosed with hashimoto's. I cannot for the life of me lose ANY weight. I pretty much cut out carbs, anything high in sodium so i don't retain a ton of water. I would work out everyday but to my dismay NEVER see any results. I would burn any easy 300 calories each workout too. So i don't know if im missing some trick to losing weight and not feeling like i have hashimotos because even with my medication I am having other health problems occur while taking my medication. I go to U of M endocrinologist and they still don't know whats wrong with me. If anyone has any helpful advice I would very much appreciate it. Nothing like paying all this money to see an endo and take medication for thyroid but still feel all the effects of it. Also I am 24 so I have been suffering from this for 7 years now.

plot_twist

What kind of exercise are you doing when you work out ? Some workouts are great for cardio or other muscular strength, but don't get you in the right 'zone' to burn fat. If you're jogging or using an elliptical, make sure to use more resistance but don't go for speed. Keeping your heart rate in a lower target zone will help your body burn fat instead of *just* working your cardio. I don't know much more than that, but keep at it ! Even if you're not seeing weight loss, exercise is great for your mood, your joints, and your heart.

I responded fairly well to meds, although it took me a long time to stabilize. When I don't stay completely on top of what I'm eating and my activity, I gain any weight I did manage to lose right back.